Designed to introduce general readers to the great diversity of religion that exists today, this fascinating and very useful book provides short descriptions of the beliefs and practices of the world religions and the denominational branches, of Christianity. Now in paperback.

"In The Many Faces of Christ religious historian Philip Jenkins refutes our most basic assumptions about the Lost Gospels and the history of Christianity. He reveals that hundreds of alternative gospels were never lost, but survived and in many cases remained influential texts, both outside and within the official Church. We are taught that these alternative scriptures--such as the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, or Judas--represented intoxicating, daring and often bizarre ideas that were wholly suppressed by the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries. In bringing order to the tumult, the Church canonized only four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The rest, according to this standard account, were lost, destroyed, or hidden. But more than a thousand years after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made his Roman Empire do the same, the Christian world retained a much broader range of scriptures than would be imaginable today"--

Faith is one of the most critical aspects of the Christian life, because it is the means by which we receive all that God has secured for us; yet the nature of faith is one of the most misunderstood concepts of Christianity. Some conceptualize faith as some mental state that one must reach before they are able to “tap into” God’s “resources.” Others view faith as some sort of incorporeal substance that is “out there” for which we must reach. All of these concepts of faith are deficient, if not heretical, and yet all of them are found in the church. Others view faith as a mere fantasy or hope with no basis in reality, and thus religious claims are excluded from the arena of knowledge. “For a number of years my heart has been trilled over the doctrine of faith as it is received and taught among evangelical Christians everywhere. Great emphasis is laid upon faith in orthodox circles, and that is good, but still I am troubled. Specifically, my fear is that the modern conception of faith is not the biblical one; that when the teachers of our day use the word, they do no mean what Bible meant when they used it”. I also share the same concerns with A.W.Tozer, when he said; “the cause of my uneasiness are these”: 1. The lack of spiritual fruits in the lives of so many who claim to have faith. 2. The rarity of a radical change in the conduct and general outlook of persons professing their new faith in Christ as their personal Savior. 3. The failure of our teachers to define or even describe the thing to which the word faith is supposed to refer. 4. The heartbreaking failure of multitudes of seekers is they are even so earnest to make anything out of the doctrine or to receive any satisfying experience through it. 5. The real danger that a doctrine that is parroted so widely and received so uncritically by so many is false as understood by them. 6. I have seen faith put forward as an escape from reality, a refuge from the necessity of hard thinking, a hiding place for weak character, natural optimism, emotional thrills and nervous tics. Therefore, in the pages of this book, I will endeavor to outline for your benefit the dynamics of faith. What is faith? How does faith works? How to grow in faith? The power of faith; the Excellency of faith; the demand of faith; the perseverance of faith; the challenges of faith; the object of faith, the effect of faith; the response of faith; the discipline of faith; the necessity of faith and many more are discussed.

This collection of photographs, by one of Spain’s leading photographers, is a cross-cultural and interfaith exploration of what it means to devote yourself to the pursuit of faith. Throughout the world, and in almost every religion, there are people who withdraw from the world in order to explore their faith and spirituality. These photographs offer a series of portraits and scenes of monastic life in countries as diverse as Spain, Armenia, Eritrea, and Nepal. This life is based on spiritual values whose metaphysical element transcends time and space. Lives of Devotion demonstrates the amazing similarities that lie across the spectrum of faith—whether Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Hindu or Buddhist. The monasteries featured include: Mount Athos, Greece; Koya San, Japan; La Oliva, Spain; Kumbh, India; Mont Saint Michel, France; Kopan, Nepal; Sera, Tibet; Saidnaya, Syria; Geghard, Armenia; Decani, Kosovo; and Pechory, Russia.

"Updated version of an Orbis classic"--

In this grand work of philosophy and history, Campbell shows how religious conceptions have been shaped by advances in technology and science over a 400-year period.

This book is about the relationship between belief, credibility, and credulity in post-Reformation Catholicism. It argues that, starting from the end of the sixteenth century and due to different political, intellectual, cultural, and theological factors, credibility assumed a central role in post-Reformation Catholic discourse. This led to an important reconsideration of the relationship between natural reason and supernatural grace and consequently to novel and significant epistemological and moral tensions. From the perspective of the relationship between credulity, credibility, and belief, early modern Catholicism emerges not as the apex of dogmatism and intellectual repression, but rather as an engine for promoting the importance of intellectual judgment in the process of embracing faith. To be sure, finding a balance between conscience and authority was not easy for early modern Catholics. This book seeks to elucidate some of the difficulties, anxieties, and tensions caused by the novel insistence on credibility that came to dominate the theological and intellectual landscape of the early modern Catholic Church. In addition to shedding light on early modern Catholic culture, this book helps us to understand better what it means to believe. For the most part, in modern Western society we don't believe in the same things as our early modern predecessors. Even when we do believe in the same things, it is not in the same way. But believe we do, and thus understanding how early modern people addressed the question of belief might be useful as we grapple with the tension between credibility, credulity, and belief.